With student fees trebling in the last year, universities all say they are focusing on the "student experience". But academics at some universities warn that the race for research status is pushing good teachers into the shadows.

University managers are currently deliberating over which academics to submit to the government's game-changing research funding competition, the Research Excellence Framework, at the end of this year. The stakes are high. The REF will distribute more than £1bn a year, and determine a university's ranking in an increasingly competitive market.

Prof Alison Wolf, director of the International Centre for University Policy Research at King's College London, says: "The money that has been spent on this exercise – both in hiring new people and in people's time – is enormous. And it's only to a small degree about the funding, it is mostly about research rankings. The REF rankings determine how you fare in league tables and they will be particularly important for the recruitment of overseas students. But lots of universities are running to stand still."

The competition will only fund work that is rated "internationally excellent" or "world-leading". At most universities, anyone whose work falls below these high markers is unlikely to be submitted. The University and College Union (UCU) says that academics are under huge pressure to publish research papers in the right journals – and that in some universities, at least, their jobs are at risk if they don't deliver.

A number of universities including York, Exeter, Sheffield, Edinburgh, St Andrews and Bradford have published clear pledges that not being entered to the REF in November will not damage an academic's career.

However, Stefano Fella, national industrial relations official at the UCU, says: "Staff at some institutions are being pushed on to teaching-only contracts, or forced out of the door altogether through targeting for redundancy." He adds: "There are certain institutions that are relaxed and confident at the top end, but there are some in the middle who are really desperate to propel themselves into the big league. That's where the worst pressure on staff is."

Student leaders are also angry about the impact the REF is having on their universities. Rachel Wenstone, vice-president of the National Union of Students, says: "It is very damaging because it creates a hierarchy between research and teaching. Universities who force academics on to teaching-only contracts damage morale and give teaching a low status."

The UCU highlights concerns about the REF driving performance management at Essex University, Strathclyde University and Queen Mary, University of London. It says there are many more cases being disputed at other universities, but members do not wish these to become public yet.

Union representatives at Essex say their management is pushing academics who don't meet its REF targets on to teaching-only contracts. They say that, in future, the REF will be "integral to promotion procedures" for staff on traditional academic contracts and also to staff on probation periods being confirmed in post.

But Prof Jules Pretty, Essex's deputy vice-chancellor, insists that "an Essex education means research-led teaching". He adds: "The university is keen to maintain its standing as a top 10 research university. However, our belief is that excellence in research and excellence in teaching are inextricably linked."

Neil Davidson, vice president of the union at Strathclyde, says members are being approached about having their contracts "downgraded" to teaching associate or teaching fellow. "Arguments about not pulling weight in the REF are also being used to close departments," he says. "We are in the middle of closing sociology, community education, music and geography."

He adds: "Research publications and research money have become the main goal for universities. There has been huge publicity about the student experience, but this comes a definite second."

A spokesperson for Strathclyde says the university is "committed to world-leading research, education and knowledge exchange." She adds that academic staff can follow career paths centred on any of these areas and they each "have the same status, are equally remunerated and have clear opportunities for promotion".

Queen Mary has been through a major restructuring exercise, with staff in several schools deemed "at risk of redundancy" according to what the union calls "crude metrics" on research publications and income in the run-up to the REF. A strike was narrowly averted at the end of last year. Queen Mary declined to comment on the situation.

A teaching fellow at a Scottish university says the overwhelming focus on winning research money has left him feeling "totally undervalued". "If you're not a funded researcher, that's a nail in your coffin," he says. "It is certainly conveyed to staff that research is the most important thing the university does. But that is so wrong. It is the quality of teaching and the reputation the programme has that attracts students."

However, other institutions insist that the funding exercise need not be a black cloud looming over academics' lives. Prof Luke Georghiou, vice-president for research at the University of Manchester, says that decisions about who is entered in the REF shouldn't be taken personally. "We are submitting research outputs and not people. It is something that should be done non-sentimentally," he says.

Prof Steve Smith, vice-chancellor of Exeter University, agrees: "It isn't if you're in – success, and if you're out – failure. You might be telling people that they've got good publications, but they won't pull in the funding so for tactical reasons we won't be submitting them. We're aren't saying people can't do research if you're not submitted."

Meanwhile, some universities are trying to fight the entrenched perception that being asked to do teaching rather than research is some sort of career failure. Georghiou says: "We're trying to get completely away from the idea of shunting people into teaching. We regard teaching as having parity of esteem with research."

Along with other institutions including the University of East Anglia (UEA), Exeter and Nottingham, Manchester has introduced a definite promotions track – including professorships – for people who excel in teaching and learning rather than research.

Helena Gillespie, a senior lecturer at UEA and one of the first people to be employed on an ATS [administration, teaching and scholarship] contract, says: "This was driven by the university realising that a large proportion of our income comes from teaching and it should be properly recognised and rewarded."

She adds: "This initiative is only a few years old, so we haven't completely solved the issue of parity of esteem for teaching. It is incumbent on me and the other ATS academics to ensure we are upfront about being on this sort of contract. We are working against a really strong academic culture nationally, and changing mindsets can be a very slow process."

Yet Smith points out that "being taught by someone at the top of their research game can make a huge difference". He warns that any institution that ignores teaching in its pursuit of research excellence, stacking lecture theatres with junior staff, does so at their peril. "The majority of our income comes from teaching and we are fiercely competing to get the best students as much as the best researchers," he says. "Student don't just care about contact hours, they care about who is doing the teaching."